Microsoft is reportedly reviving the Fable franchise with Forza developer Playground at the helm

The new Fable title could be an open-world action RPG

Despite Peter Molyneux's history of overpromising and underdelivering, there's no denying the Fable series has achieved quite a bit of success since the first title launched back in 2004. Though some may argue that the series lost its way over time, it seems that Microsoft may be interested in bringing it back to its RPG roots.

According to a Eurogamer report, Microsoft has tasked UK developer Playground -- best known for racing titles like Forza Horizon -- with reviving the series. Though the report states this news came from "sources close to the project," when asked to comment on the matter, Microsoft simply said they do not comment on "rumor or speculation." Other outlets have received similar statements.

The upcoming Fable game will take the series in a slightly new direction in the form of an open-world, "story and character-focused" action RPG. This is hardly a surprise given the massive success of titles like The Witcher 3 and Fallout 4 but it does mark a pretty significant departure from the traditional Fable formula which mostly centered around smaller gameplay hubs.

Eurogamer notes that the game won't be coming anytime soon with Playground still reportedly working on gathering the required 200 members to begin full development.

It remains to be seen whether or not Playground's experience developing racing titles will translate to the broader scope of the open-world RPG genre but it's nice to see the series pick up steam once again.